A rictameter is short form of poetry, which uses nine lines. The 1st and last lines are the same. The lines are developed by syllable count, which is as follows:
line 1 - 2 syllables - same as line 9
line 2 - 4 syllables
line 3 - 6 syllables
line 4 - 8 syllables
line 5 - 10 syllables
line 6 - 8 syllables
line 7 - 6 syllables
line 8 - 4 syllables
line 9 - 2 syllables - same as line 1
They can be lots of fun when you challenge yourself to use meter and a rhyme scheme, although the poetry form does not insist on either. Have fun!
EXAMPLE:
A Son To His Father
Father
console me now:
Though I stand here a man,
I am but a boy lost beneath
a soldier’s attire...still mourning a loss
I learned to grieve in younger days,
when you were strong and I
was not yet a
father.
EJD
Good AdviceIn morn
when I awoke
I clearly understood
what had been confusing last night.
I had been so ready to disagree ...
Perhaps the docs are all correct
when saying we must sleep
to awake refreshed
in morn?
© D R Harris - 7 February 2004 Now it's your turn to try one. C'mon .. they're fun!
Here's to fun writing,
Athena
JustDaniel
Feb 8 04, 06:50
Yes, Dolly, they can be fun...
A muse
will stir ewe up;
it’s faun’d of satyrs too.
Can’t see the forest for the trees?
Well, don’t give up! Acorn is all I knead
to fill or sophic’ly reflect
upon a subject here
attempting to
amuse.
© Daniel J Ricketts 07 Nov 2003
or descriptive...
A rose
slowly opens
delicate fragrances
while petals beautifully unfold,
exposing stemmed sweethearts in ornate urns
yet freely mingling baby's breath
with mature greenery
once fresh waters
arose.
© Daniel J Ricketts 06 April 2003
or dreamily romantic...
Adrift, I Stare Awake
Adrift
I find you here
beside me where you were
when we'd begun to slowly move
our lips, then more, so liquidly until
most quietly you'd slipped upon
me, undulating there
to find my gaze
adrift.
I stare
at ebon eyes
then on inside of you
to find that sweet serenity
I've come to cherish so in fleeting words
we too infrequently have shared
while yearning yet for more,
so here in mist
I stare.
Awake
again with you
amazed how much you love
in ways I'd never dared to dream,
with such capacity and radiant warmth,
a hearth, security and peace
a living, breathing joy
each day when I
awake.
© M Lee Dickens' son 29 April 2003
even haiku-like reflective...
blossom
faded though fair
yet withered of a hope
only yesterday emblazoned
on opulently hued petals, fiery sweet
scents permeating a warm breeze
now stale, acrid, hanging
from a tear-streaked
blossom
© Daniel J Ricketts 22 May 2003
and much more...
but yes, they are fun to write, and they can spawn creativity. Soooooo... write on!
lovin' deLight, Daniel 
P.S. What a wonderful first rictameter yours is! Keep it up, Ms Athena!
Cleo_Serapis
Feb 8 04, 10:29
Adorning Dawn
Sunrise
wakens creatures
to her sparkling splendors,
casting chaotic stimuli
feeding firmaments of glitter and glee
on cushioned clouds. Dreams dwindle, sleep
struggles unrelenting.
Subservient
sunrise.
© 2004 Lorraine M Kanter
Hi Daniel!!
Heyyy Daniel, no one will ever call YOU stingy!! Six Rictameters!!! And all good ... sheeeesssshhh ... and here I think it's a big deal to even write one!!
Most of these are very thought provoking, too, but all are superb!! Thank you!!
Hi Lori,
That's a wonderful Rictameter! Hmmmm wonder why I'm the only one to recently "discover" them? Thank you, Lori, you seem to do everything well that you set your hand to. Thank you!
Hi Alan,
Thanks for making a monkey of me, my friend! 
I really don't remember that other thread. I'll get busy and move them all in together, methinks. Thanks for pointing it out to me ... you're so sweet...
Always trying to learn,
Dolly
A rictameter is short form of poetry, which uses nine lines. The 1st and last lines are the same. The lines are developed by syllable count, which is as follows:
line 1 - 2 syllables - same as line 9
line 2 - 4 syllables
line 3 - 6 syllables
line 4 - 8 syllables
line 5 - 10 syllables
line 6 - 8 syllables
line 7 - 6 syllables
line 8 - 4 syllables
line 9 - 2 syllables - same as line 1
They can be lots of fun when you challenge yourself to use meter and a rhyme scheme, although the poetry form does not insist on either. Have fun!
EXAMPLE:
A Son To His Father
Father
console me now:
Though I stand here a man,
I am but a boy lost beneath
a soldier’s attire...still mourning a loss
I learned to grieve in younger days,
when you were strong and I
was not yet a
father.
EJD
HI Liz - just centering this one for ya!
Cleoi
Cleo_Serapis
Aug 4 03, 05:09
OOhhhh Thanks Liz!
Here's one of mine (remember this one?):
Adorning Dawn
Sunrise
wakens creatures
to her sparkling splendors,
casting chaotic stimuli
to feed firmaments of glitter and glee
on cushioned clouds. Dreams dwindle, sleep
struggles subservient.
Unrelenting
sunrise.
© Lorraine M Kanter 17 April 2003
QUOTE
Here's a new one:
Do you
remember me?
...My blushing cheeks aglow,
the whisper of your soft hello
would kindle my darkest lustful longings
then you'd fly away, come morning.
I miss you once again
so I pretend ~
do you?
Very lovely Liz!
A great example with an aliterative flair! :love: 
Awesome!
Lori
AMETHYST
Aug 12 03, 22:54
Nothing Compares
Her heart
at times, is weak.
Compelled by love...she'll seek,
all greater gifts by far, would fail
to please her more than he. As others pale;
when she compares his poetry.
With words, like art, he paints
the canvas of...
her heart.
Cleo_Serapis
Aug 13 03, 05:33
QUOTE (AMETHYST @ Aug. 12 2003, 23:54)
Nothing Compares
Her heart
at times, is weak.
Compelled by love...she'll seek,
all greater gifts by far, would fail
to please her more than he. As others pale;
when she compares his poetry.
With words, like art, he paints
the canvas of...
her heart.
Absolutely lovely!!!! 
:tophat:
Cheers!
:love:
We love adding tiles like this pretty one! :angel:
Thankies!
Luvs!
Cleo_Serapis
Aug 22 03, 18:08
Chartered Footpaths
Walking
on earthen floor
coursing chartered footpaths,
I veer off track to a place where
heavy burdens relinquish with each step.
Nature's spirited song breathes birth
and harmonizes paths
pioneered by
walking.
That night,
the moon lit sky
in crimson red--had bled
pear shaped tears for her broken heart,
to wash away her pain and mend her faith.
The moon; sole witness of her blush
when she had fell in love
and he slayed her,
that night
JustDaniel
Sep 12 03, 07:46
Ego
got in his way;
appeared to be the best
at almost everything he tried,
yet always wanted everyone to know.
But who knows, since he disappeared?
Balloon one day ka-boomed!
No queries, Where’d
‘e go?
© Daniel J Ricketts 12 Sept 2003
Cleo_Serapis
Sep 12 03, 16:36
QUOTE (Just Daniel @ Sep. 12 2003, 08:46)
Ego
got in his way;
appeared to be the best
at almost everything he tried,
yet always wanted everyone to know.
But who knows, since he disappeared?
Balloon one day ka-boomed!
No queries, Where’d
‘e go?
© Daniel J Ricketts 12 Sept 2003
Ahhh -so GOOD to see you posting at Mosaic! Please, more more! :wizard: :dance:
Cheers!
~Cleo :pharoah: :pharoah2 :cloud9:
Cleo_Serapis
Sep 12 03, 16:37
QUOTE (AMETHYST @ Sep. 09 2003, 09:27)
That night,
the moon lit sky
in crimson red--had bled
pear shaped tears for her broken heart,
to wash away her pain and mend her faith.
The moon; sole witness of her blush
when she had fell in love
and he slayed her,
that night
VERY surreal! I love it! You know me, I like (tasteful) controversy!
Well done! 
~Cleo :pharoah:
JustDaniel
Sep 12 03, 21:08
Well, you asked for it, LorII!
Here's one I've not posted anywhere:
Adrift, I Stare Awake
Adrift
I find you here
beside me where you were
when we'd begun to slowly move
our lips, then more, so liquidly until
most quietly you'd slipped upon
me, undulating there
to find my gaze
adrift.
I stare
at ebon eyes
but on inside of you
to find that sweet serenity
I've come to cherish so in fleeting words
we too infrequently have shared
while yearning yet for more,
so here in mist
I stare.
Awake
again with you
amazed how much you love
in ways I'd never dared to dream,
with such capacity and glowing warmth,
a hearth, security and peace
a living, breathing joy
each day when I
awake.
© M Lee Dickens' son 29 April 2003
Cleo_Serapis
Sep 13 03, 06:29
QUOTE (Just Daniel @ Sep. 12 2003, 22:08)
Well, you asked for it, LorII!
Here's one I've not posted anywhere:
Adrift, I Stare Awake
Adrift
I find you here
beside me where you were
when we'd begun to slowly move
our lips, then more, so liquidly until
most quietly you'd slipped upon
me, undulating there
to find my gaze
adrift.
I stare
at ebon eyes
but on inside of you
to find that sweet serenity
I've come to cherish so in fleeting words
we too infrequently have shared
while yearning yet for more,
so here in mist
I stare.
Awake
again with you
amazed how much you love
in ways I'd never dared to dream,
with such capacity and glowing warmth,
a hearth, security and peace
a living, breathing joy
each day when I
awake.
© M Lee Dickens' son 29 April 2003
WOW Daniel!
I didn;t know you had sensuality within you to share?! :huh: :dance:
Nicely done!
~Cleo :pharoah:
JustDaniel
Sep 15 03, 09:33
QUOTE (Cleo_Serapis @ Sep. 13 2003, 06:29)
WOW Daniel!
I didn;t know you had sensuality within you to share?!
Nicely done!
~Cleo
Hmmmm
So you must think Eileen is totally bored, huh? ???
on Critiquing
Come back
to simply say
that you just don’t concur
or that you’d rather let it stay
as a fleeting moment’s inspiration
now memorialized in words
so sacred that your gut
bellows some crude
comeback.
© Daniel J Ricketts 15 Sept 2003
JustDaniel
Oct 11 03, 06:46
QUOTE (Just Daniel @ Sep. 15 2003, 09:33)
on Critiquing
Come back
to simply say
that you just don’t concur
or that you’d rather let it stay
as a fleeting moment’s inspiration
now memorialized in words
so sacred that your gut
bellows some crude
comeback.
© Daniel J Ricketts 15 Sept 2003
Here's a complete revision of the previous post:
Conscentsual Critiquing
Come back
to simply share
how you cannot concur
or that you’d rather let it lie
a fleeting moment’s inspiration gone
somehow memorialized in words
ineffable – your bowels
let out a crude
comeback.
© Daniel J Ricketts 11 Oct 2003
Note:
If concentual = possessing harmony, accordant
and consensual = (agreement) existing by consent
then must not conscentsual = ascent toward harmony existing with a distinct air about it ?
JustDaniel
Oct 11 03, 08:57
And another example of rictameter, since several have been asking about the form:
Back to My Roots
What's wrong?
Would you believe
that I have been depressed?
"But how could you be sad?" you ask.
I've always felt that I must be the best
to ever be worth anything.
How wrong, it seems, I've been!
His love accepts
what's wrong.
All right:
perfectionists
are moved to take control
of all perceived as dangerous;
'survival' comes from doing things just so,
contorting to avoid all hurts.
It never was enough;
I couldn't do
all right.
Holy
means set apart.
none other has this place;
it is reserved for You alone.
There's no one . . . nothing . . . that compares with You.
No matter what woos otherwise
I cease to shrink from You;
I give myself
wholly.
Transformed
cannot take place
by coup, or overnight.
There will be struggles, pain ahead.
I must go through them daily, step by step
. . . in place of constant busy-ness,
and then, in brokenness,
just walk with God
transformed.
How deep
should my faith go?
How real is what I've been?
Do I live out what I believe?
"God faithful is, Who brings it all to pass"
. . . not superficiality!
So when God says, "Dive in,"
I'll only ask,
"How deep?"
© Daniel J Ricketts 25 May 2003
Cleo_Serapis
Oct 11 03, 17:22
JustDaniel
Oct 27 03, 06:59
Thankies, LorII!
Here's one on a much more serious, reflective note:
potter
reshapes his earth
immersing his spirit
into every nuance of touch
sometimes leaving inexplicable marks
unmerciful wheel spins questions
seemingly pointlessly
who controls this
potter
© Daniel J Ricketts 26 Oct 2003
Held Lightly by gravity, Daniel
JustDaniel
Nov 6 03, 15:47
I slept
without a stir
alone in my West Wing;
body’s Law and Order sacked me.
Such News frightened me awake but briefly,
whispering, You’ll doze off Tonight.
Good knight woke me this morn
offering a toast;
ice leapt.
© Daniel J Ricketts 06 Nov 2003
Cleo_Serapis
Nov 6 03, 20:45
You are very clever and original with these Daniel!
Love 'em all! :cheer: :sings: :wave:
Hugarooos!
~Cleo :lovie:
JustDaniel
Nov 6 03, 23:49
QUOTE (Cleo_Serapis @ Nov. 06 2003, 19:45)
You are very clever and original with these Daniel!
Love 'em all!
Hugarooos!
~Cleo
Thankies, Ms Cleo! I miss our occasional early morning exchanges... but alas I just am not around much for awile! Waaaaaaaa!
Blossom
faded though fair
yet withered of a hope
only yesterday emblazoned
on opulently hued petals, fiery sweet
scents permeating a warm breeze,
now stale, acrid, hanging
from a tear-streaked
blossom.
© Daniel J Ricketts 22 May 2003
Cleo_Serapis
Nov 7 03, 06:16
No worries - we're all so busy!
My PC FRIED yesterday at work at 1 PM. Our IS department hasn't been back since! LOL!
So, I am without a pc at work (been using Lindi's in the afternoon). I do HOPE they at least tell me what's up today! I've been SOOOOOO STRESSED at work (ask Lindi) on a project to go live on Monday (big deal at Bose, been the project manager on this one since April) - I finally see the light and POOF - black screen syndrome! LOL!
At least it's at WORK and not our home pcs.
My advise nevertheless: Back up your data OFTEN!
I spy a poem coming on - my MUSE is stirring! 
Catcha later!
Cleo :pharoah: :alien:
JustDaniel
Nov 7 03, 07:23
QUOTE (Cleo_Serapis @ Nov. 07 2003, 05:16)
No worries - we're all so busy!
My PC FRIED yesterday at work at 1 PM. Our IS department hasn't been back since! LOL!
So, I am without a pc at work (been using Lindi's in the afternoon). I do HOPE they at least tell me what's up today! I've been SOOOOOO STRESSED at work (ask Lindi) on a project to go live on Monday (big deal at Bose, been the project manager on this one since April) - I finally see the light and POOF - black screen syndrome! LOL!
At least it's at WORK and not our home pcs.
My advise nevertheless: Back up your data OFTEN!
I spy a poem coming on - my MUSE is stirring!
Catcha later!
Cleo
I surely don't want to get your back up, LorII! So, get your back-up!
A muse
will stir ewe up;
it’s faun’d of satyrs too.
Can’t see the forest for the trees?
Well, don’t give up! Acorn is all I knead
to fill or sophic’ly reflect
upon a subject here
attempting to
amuse.
© Daniel J Ricketts 07 Nov 2003
deLightingly, Daniel
JustDaniel
Nov 23 03, 14:22
Death’s Blind Faith
“No Death?”
Eye’d move away
to sense reel life… apart
from God, who’d better save His Breath.
No guilt… I’d feel exhilaration’s thrill to fly
on eagle’s wing… then realized
too late… without His wind
I’m fallin’… Oh
no! Death.
© Daniel J Ricketts 23 Nov 2003
Capricious March
Blowing
wind carresses
the trees making sea sounds
nudging debris into ravines
completely out of sight, so we're left
beauties of slow arriving spring
one day cool the next warm
one still, next one
blowing
© D R Harris - 12 February 2004 (Well, I'm still new to rictameters ... they'll get better ... I hope)
heartsong7
Jul 13 04, 12:59
I was turned on to this form a few days ago. This is my first. Mine will usually have meter and rhyme.
Gardener
Lush lawns
like emeralds
surround a sapphire gem
whereon the windblown ripplets run
and reach as if to capture beams of sun.
The music of the morning has begun.
As songbirds sing for him,
he starts to mow
lush lawns.
JustDaniel
Jul 13 04, 13:25
Excellent piece, Sue...
please forgive my response:
Guardin’ ‘er
rush in
to lounge upon
his lucioius carpet green
more plush than I have ever seen
then furtively we’ll slip away, dive in
to cool ourselves until that mean
old gard’ner comes to bean
us; watch that fool
rush in
© Daniel J Ricketts 13 July 2004
heartsong7
Jul 13 04, 13:35
Amazing...How in the world do you do that so quickly...and well?
I'm speechless
with awe,
Sue
JustDaniel
Jul 13 04, 13:56
rictametric key
the key
to everything
is choosing that first line
anticipating how you'll close;
the rest will come to you, if patiently
you plod along not fearing how
you'll lock the door behind
because you have
the key
© Daniel J Ricketts 13 July 2004
heartsong7
Jul 17 04, 16:33
Loving
hands caress her,
coaxingly undress her,
and stroke her cheek to still a tear.
While nibbling on the soft lobes of her ear,
he scoops her up and off to bed,
his sweet words in her head
for a night of
loving.
He leaves
before the dawn,
packs up and travels on
and never even says goodbye.
She sees him go but barely bats an eye,
for in the evening every day,
he wanders back her way
before, once more,
he leaves.
JustDaniel
Jul 17 04, 18:01
Well, young lady, whoever you are...
you have marvellously captured the essence of rictameter.
I bow to your prowess!
deLightingly, Daniel :sun:
Twilight to Dawn
Twilight
fades with the dawn,
bright yellows and roses
ascending o'er the horizon
announcing the arrival of new day.
Captive stars in dark night
bring sweet serenity.
Gaze upon
Twilight
JustDaniel
Nov 15 04, 11:15
QUOTE (larrysgirl5548 @ Nov. 14 2004, 21:40)
Twilight to Dawn
Twilight
fades with the dawn
of bright yellow and rose
ascending o'er horizon's mourn
announcing arrival of a new day.
This beauty is so different
from night's serenity
with sparkling stars
that lay captive
Twilight
Write Wright
To right
un-centered piece
do not forget that words
like of and the do not belong
as line-ends on a tight rictameter.
Select two sounds you want
to start as well as end
then just proceed
to write.
© MLee Dickens’son 15 Nov 2004
I've changed it, does it qualify now? lol
Thanks Daniel for pointing out my oops! You did miss one though, I had too many lines in the last half!
:jester:
Cathy
:lovie:
JustDaniel
Nov 15 04, 17:22
QUOTE (larrysgirl5548 @ Nov. 15 2004, 13:53)
I've changed it, does it qualify now? lol
Thanks Daniel for pointing out my oops! You did miss one though, I had too many lines in the last half!
Cathy
Your revision seems pretty good to me... though I've always found it helpful to others reading such a thread as this, to quote the original so that learners can see the progress of our own learning. That sort of thing always helps me, at least. (I know we all learn in very different ways.)
And you're quite right; I did not count the syllables or the lines, and you slipped that in on BOTH of us, it seems... but you get the last laugh about your last half!
Those words (not your laughing at me, because I certainly don't sense that!) have mused another rictameter! Here goes:
a good guffaw
last laugh,
it's said, laughs best
by those who seem to know,
but if it's at someone’s expense
who's not agreed up front to pay the tab,
I've found it much more apropos
to (with some subtlety)
let them have it...
last laugh
© MLee Dickens'son 15 Nov 2004
sLightly deviously, Daniel
Cleo_Serapis
Nov 15 04, 20:03
Give thanks
for our blessings
received in bountiful
doses from near and far by friends
who touch all with a cornucopia
of generosity and love
laced with just the right blend
of spice so nice
Give thanks
Cleo_Serapis
Nov 15 04, 20:13
.
. .
. . .
Snow falls
serenading
whipped cream dollops dancing
in freckled white powdered sugar
sprinkled with a dash of nutmeg spices
glazing picturesque scenery
on marshmallow bi-ways
tinted cocoa
snow falls
. . .
. .
.
Hi Cleo!
You make snow sound so delicious! 
:snowflake: :snowflake:
Makes me want to run to the kitchen!
Cathy :cloud9: :lovie:
Cleo_Serapis
Nov 16 04, 06:19
JustDaniel
Jan 7 05, 17:28
Two yummie ones, Cleo!
common grounds
coffee
freshly brewing
streams anticipation
down at Daniel’s Bagel Parlor
where the clients steep in stimulation
on each other and their palates
Thursday mornings early
complementing
coffee
© Daniel J Ricketts 07 Jan 2004
JustDaniel
Feb 16 05, 08:20
May we
admire your tower?
. . . one eyeful, so we hear . . .
and could we see your graceful arch?
O might we peek in through the louvers where
we’d blush to view plush nakedness
that friends have said is art?
Greets gay Paris:
Mais oui!
© MLee Dickens’ son 16 Feb 2005
JustDaniel
Apr 26 05, 09:31
an assignment for a local poetry group for next week, to write a poem using the word "secure":
Secure
seek your
poetic voice
in everything you write
until it seeps out from the page
to whisper softly… shout across the room
in tone that’s unmistakably
no other’s voice but yours
to make your mark
secure
© MLee Dickens’son 26 April 2005... and another that just occurred to me while talking with an associate at work:
ComPlain
Complain
but wait a while
until it settles down
so you can think the matter through
and figure out a way to make things right
apart from bitterness that could
come blurting out too soon;
with calm, words can
come plain
© Daniel J. Ricketts 26 April 2005
JustDaniel
May 4 05, 10:47
RICTAM’TER
response
in graphic verse
creating diamond shape
to focus reader on one thought
about whatever’s in the poet’s mind
meticulously shaped and phrased
‘til writer’s satisfied
each word is his
response
© Daniel J Ricketts 04 May 2005
JustDaniel
May 9 05, 16:41
HazMatters
Will you
need a placard
saying you’re Explosive ?
that you’re a Hazardous Dump Site ?
Are you prepared to contain your discharges;
get rid of bitterness, anger;
treat all with dignity;
keep a Light on?
Will you?
© Daniel J Ricketts 09 May 2005
Cleo_Serapis
Aug 13 05, 11:40
Giving
Giving
of yourself is
a courtesy that when
nurtured properly flourishes
in kind, spreading our wills, desires, hopes
amongst the masses intent on
capturing the delights
that is shared by
giving.
JustDaniel
Jan 21 06, 21:12
Wow... a lot of time has past since you posted this one, Lori...
I guess there isn't much interest in rictameters here, huh? I simply overlooked it. Yours in excellent in every way!
Here's one of my recent spate with which I'm reasonably happy:
Slight Revision:
revenge
anticipates
an evening of odd
and even paradoxical
events to find a satisfying end
to all the fire that burns inside
but when the smoke is gone
ash leaves its own
revenge
© MLee Dickens’son 21 Jan 2005
Original L4: 'or even contradictory'
JustDaniel
Jan 27 06, 08:15
caught up
on wings of words
too sore on feathered wheeze
I rise above my chair, then perch
on Microsoftly down to peer about
perhaps to sharpen taloned fowl
who scratch about below
while we get all
caught up
© MLee Dickens’son 25 Jan 2006
what’d
I think about
on waking up today?
did I remember that His grace
is new each morning even ere the sun
comes shining through the clouds — or not?
will wonder fill my day?
I need my edge
whetted
© MLee Dickens’son 27 Jan 2006
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